The Puzzle Palace is about the history of the nsa.That's where i would start.Body of Secrets builds on this, but also has historical episodes with the revelation of now unclassified material, and the intel community's role in the events.

I've seen the dockos Astrospies and the Spy Factory and will read the newer books when I have the chance.I think all of his stuff is worth reading.Has been so far.

People still won't believe much of what is in the Puzzle Palace can be true.

Will the world end on 21st December 2012 because of the end of the Mayan calendar or because the winter solstice is "aligned" with the Milky Way?

The Mayan calendar does not predict the end of the world on Dec 12th 2012. The exact date of the end of the current Mayan Long Count is still a matter of debate amongst Mayan scholars, although it is likely to be around Dec 21 2012. The Mayan calendar is cyclical, and there are names for cycles longer than 13 bactuns of the Long Count which are coming to an end in 2012. Even if the Mayans did believe that the world would come to an end at the end of the Long Count (which I don't believe is true), there is no reason to assume that they have any special knowledge which would allow them to make this prediction correctly. You are free to believe the Sun won't come up tomorrow, but it will anyway....

The fact that the winter solstice on 2012 is "aligned" with the plane of the Galaxy has no significance. It takes the winter solstice 700-1400 years to cross the plane of the Galaxy. The solstice last year (2005) was within 0.1 degrees (or 1/5th the size of the Sun) of where it will be on 2012. The Sun crosses the plane of the Milky Way twice every year with no ill effect.

Well, at least according to some actual Mayan shamans, all the date refers to is the end of one cycle and the start of the next. (Apparently, the last four cycles alternated between "male" and "female" the cycle which follows the present one [which I do not recall if it is "male" or "female" will be both "male" and "female". [Which I suppose could be the end of the world for some folks...]) Plus, the date of the change isn't supposed to be like flicking a switch-- the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next is already in progress.

But such things do not make good disaster movies.

Now, the potential demise of the Twinkie, that IS a sign of the Apocalypse!

"Nothing is withheld from us which we have conceived to do.Do things that have never been done."--Russell Kirsch

Today, I stopped by the Big Box, and got 8 pounds of D batteries, and 3 gallons of kerosine.

Why don't ya stick your head in that hole and find out? ~pieholePlan for the worst, expect the best. Make the most out of it under any conditions. If you cannot do that you will never enjoy yourself. ~CrispyDave